SAUGUS, MASS. (WHDH) - A Saugus homeowner is frustrated and upset after a vandal targeted his prized nativity scene on Friday.

Dale Palma said he woke up to one of his three sheep missing and baby Jesus turned over.

Palma has no clue why someone would want to damage his decades-old display and has filed a police report to get to the bottom of it.

This is the second year he’s put out his life-size display and the first time it was damaged.

“The infant Jesus was turned over. I was disheartened to see that my manger had been vandalized,” Palma told 7News.

Some pieces were stolen and others were damaged causing Palma to spend the day making repairs.

He thinks whoever did it may have been mad that baby Jesus was tethered down along with other pieces.

“This morning I was disheartened to see that my manger was vandalized … My baby Jesus was turned over, his finger was broken (and) the face is all marred up,” Palma said.

He said the set was passed down to him from a dear friend and he promised to take care of it, restore it and cherish it.

Palma hopes it was a harmless prank and whoever’s responsible won’t bother the manger.

“I just hope its not a hate crime, that’s a very disturbing. Because I respect everybody and everybody’s thoughts (and) religions,” he said.

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